S. 235 115th Congress Senate

CHOICE Act

Official title: A bill to expand opportunity through greater choice in education, and for other purposes.

Introduced: January 24, 2017 Introduced by: Tim Scott Republican · South Carolina See on congress.gov

Education AppropriationsCongressional oversightDepartment of EducationDistrict of Columbia

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Education of the disadvantagedEducation programs fundingElementary and secondary educationEmployment discrimination and employee rightsExecutive agency funding and structureGovernment employee pay, benefits, personnel managementMilitary personnel and dependentsReligionSpecial educationStudent aid and college costs

Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps

Introduced

In committee

Reported out

Passed House

Passed Senate

To President

Became law

Jan 24, 2017

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Jan 24, 2017

Introduced in Senate

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Latest action January 24, 2017

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Creating Hope and Opportunity for Individuals and Communities through Education Act or the CHOICE Act

This bill amends the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act to include among the eligibility criteria for opportunity scholarships, a requirement that a student in Washington, DC is enrolled, or will be enrolled for the next school year, in a public or private elementary or secondary school. (Opportunity scholarships are provided to low-income DC students to enable them to attend a participating private school of their choice.)

The bill also amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to allow states that have established a program which allows the parents of disabled children to use public or private funds for assistance with the cost of their children attending a private school, to supplement those funds with their allocation of federal special education funds.

The bill authorizes grants to support the design and initial implementation of state programs that allow the parents of a disabled child to make a choice of the appropriate public or private school for their child.

The Department of Defense (DOD) must carry out a five-year pilot program to award scholarships to enable military dependent students who live on military installations to attend the public or private elementary or secondary schools their parents choose. DOD must select at least five military installations to participate in the program and choose those where military students would benefit from expanded education options.

The Department of Education must return to the Treasury specified amounts made available for salaries and expenses.

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